Republicans Begin Reign In Assembly

RICHMOND — One man will be the center of attention today as the 2000 General Assembly convenes with a Republican majority in both houses for the first time in history.

That man is Del. S. Vance Wilkins, the Amherst Republican who will become speaker of the House of Delegates shortly after high noon, when the flags are raised over each house of the legislature to signal the start of the new session.

FOR THE RECORD - Published correction ran Thursday, January 13, 2000.A story on Wednesday's front page incorrectly said Sen. Frederick M. Quayle, R-Chesapeake, will become chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. The chairmanship will go to Sen. Malfourd W. "Bo" Trumbo, R-Botetourt. (Text has been corrected)

"I hope to make history," said Wilkins, 63, an ingenuous 22-year-veteran of the House who has promised nothing if not caution as he steps into one of the most powerful positions in state politics.

"I don't get too excited most of the time," he said. "I'm a little awed, maybe. It's a large responsibility, and I have a lot of opportunity to do things that are good. Hopefully, I can do that well."

He'll have help from a lot of quarters. Gov. Jim Gilmore will be closer than ever to the action in the legislature this year, responsible as he is for helping usher in the new majority during the fall elections.

"It's going to be a historic day," said Gilmore spokesman Mark A. Miner. "You'll see a smooth transition of political power in the commonwealth. The one-party rule of the past is now over. It's time to move forward as a united Virginia."

Gilmore will deliver his third State of the Commonwealth address tonight and will have much to say about how the legislature should address such issues as the next two-year budget, which totals a record $48 billion. Under Gilmore's guidance, Republicans, with a five-seat edge in the House and a two-seat margin in the Senate, will be able to lead the way on such priorities as continued tax relief, education reform and transportation spending, to name a few.

Still, there is a lot riding on Wilkins' performance. As chief spokesman for the new Republican majority, he will set the tone for the GOP's transition to power. And as sole decider of House committee assignments and chairmanships, he will determine the look and feel of day-to-day business in the larger chamber.

He can proceed cautiously; he can make sweeping changes. He can be fair to his colleagues across the aisle; he can target them as payback for their own record of domination over the course of the 20th century.

Chances are, he'll do a little bit of all the above.

"We promised we would do things differently," Wilkins said at a news conference Tuesday, where he and other Republicans announced plans for a new way of selecting judges aimed at eliminating much of the politicking from that process.

Wilkins has vowed to reverse other practices Republicans have long complained about as members of the minority party. He promised "as much as possible" to defer to seniority when making committee assignments and choosing committee chairs. He promised - again, "as much as possible" - to give the minority Democrats proportional representation on committees. That's something Democrats did not do until they had no choice under power-sharing two years ago.

Yet Wilkins reserves the right to tweak some Democrats: "Everything's on the table," he said.

"There will be some degree of gamesmanship, some degree of retribution," said Robert D. Holsworth, a political analyst with Virginia Commonwealth University. "There's even an opportunity for Republicans to look very magnanimous. They could potentially place more African-Americans on committees than the Democrats did. There's some opportunity for political advantage in this situation that I would be surprised if they didn't take advantage of."

Speculation is high over the fate of Democrat Thomas W. Moss Jr., the outgoing speaker from Norfolk. Moss is at Wilkins' mercy when it comes to committee assignments. As speaker, his only assignment was to chair the House Rules Committee, but as a regular-issue delegate, he'll have to take on more than that.

Democrats, of course, say they are optimistic.

"I just don't look at it being an antagonistic change in leadership," said Del. Alan A. Diamonstein, D-Newport News. "There are 47 Democratic votes. There are 52 Republicans. There's one independent. When those numbers were reversed, that brought about power-sharing. We still have power sharing. I don't think the majority will change the way we do business to that extent."

Yet Diamonstein's fate also hangs in the balance. The chairman of the House Democratic Caucus sits on the Rules Committee, he is co-chairman of the General Laws Committee, and, as a member of the House Appropriations conference committee, he is a senior budget negotiator.

It is unlikely that Diamonstein will retain all those roles, some say. There is much talk that House and Senate Republicans will agree to reduce the budget conference from six to four members per house. In that case, Diamonstein would lose his spot, and the Peninsula would lose a great deal of influence over last-minute budget negotiations. In fact, there would be no one from all of Hampton Roads on the conference committee if Diamonstein loses that job.